Web Version of WhatsApp Said to be in the Works for Desktop Users

WhatsApp is perhaps the most used free messaging app in the world, with hundreds of millions users across the entire globe. And while the app is aimed mainly at mobile users, a new report suggests that the company could be secretly working on a web version, as well.

Dutch publication AndroidWorld.nl says that WhatsApp could soon unveil a web version of its service that could be used by desktop users, as well. This makes a lot of sense, since there have been many request to bring the app on Windows devices, but also on other desktop machines.

Paul Durov, co-founder of rival messaging app Telegram, recently revealed some strings in WhatsApp’s code that suggest a web version is on the cards. Even more, the recent WhatsApp update that has mentions of ‘WhatsApp Web’ within its code also mentions references to logging in and out of computers as well as tracking user statuses online.

It seems that the code has no mention of Facebook, which could mean that users might not need to log into the web-based service via their respective Facebook accounts as it will function separately. Of course, at the moment these are all just rumors, but it does make sense, we have to agree.

Rival messaging apps such as Viber, Telegram, WeChat, and Line already feature full-fledged web and PC clients for each of their services, so what WhatsApp could be trying to do won’t suprise anybody. But there is also a big chance that the service will remain limited to mobile users for now.

WhatsApp currently has a larger user base of over 600 million active users and it is continuously growing, mainly thanks to emerging markets. Also, let’s not forget that WhatsApp doesn’t authenticate you with usernames or passwords, as it requires a SIM card to work on any device.

WhatsApp has recently starte to encrypt messages, and who knows, maybe there are some more surprises that they have in store for us. So even if WhatsApp is currently the king of the hill, nothing is sure in this fast changing world, so new features are always welcome.